President: Nguyen Minh Triet Secretary-general of the Communist Party : Nguyen Phu Trong
Cypriot president: Demetris Christofias
Population
91,519,289
1,138,071
Life Expectancy
72.410 years
78.000 years
Capital City
Hanoi
Nicosia (Lefkosia)
Largest city
Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh (population: 3,467,330)
Nicosia (population: 200,452)
Human Development Index
0.718
0.912
GDP per capita
$3,400 US
$29,400 US
Literacy Rate
90.3%
97.6%
Corruption Perception Index
2.7
6.4
Percentage of Women in Parliament
25.8%
14.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
John Fredriksen ($4.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
2.300%
7.700%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
Communist state
republic note: a separation of the two ethnic communities inhabiting the island began following the outbreak of communal strife in 1963; this separation was further solidified after the Turkish intervention in July 1974 that followed a Greek junta-supported coup attempt gave the Turkish Cypriots de facto control in the north; Greek Cypriots control the only internationally recognized government; on 15 November 1983 Turkish Cypriot "President" Rauf DENKTASH declared independence and the formation of a "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC), which is recognized only by Turkey
Independence date
2 September 1945 (from France)
16 August 1960 (from UK); note - Turkish Cypriots proclaimed self-rule on 13 February 1975 and independence in 1983, but these proclamations are only recognized by Turkey
Religions
Buddhist 9.3%, Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao 1.5%, Cao Dai 1.1%, Protestant 0.5%, Muslim 0.1%, none 80.8% (1999 census)
Greek Orthodox 78%, Muslim 18%, other (includes Maronite and Armenian Apostolic) 4%
Languages
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
